Bottom line: What we REALLY think you should be buying
The funny thing about journalism is that half the time, the things people tell you are great and must-haves for your pad at home turn out to be stuff that they personally wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Why? Because reviews and articles have to be 'fair, balanced and eliminate personal biases where possible'.
The trouble with this method is, you're an ordinary human being and so am I. Personal biases, if they're established for a good reason, are actually worthy of keeping to a certain extent. I want to know that despite a game being the best thing in its genre right now for Xbox, the PC has titles which whoop it out of sight and you can actually update the PC graphics card. I also want to know that a title may be very good, but that something better is coming next week or is even already out right now. I want that bigger picture, the personal recommendation if you would. If there's a good reason you don't own the game as a journalist, do I want to own it either? It might be a great game, but if you're all playing something else and will never touch it ... why should I?
What it comes down to is what those in the know are playing and BUYING out of their own pocket. It's one thing to be totally happy with a game that you were GIVEN by Sega, Nintendo or so-and-so, another entirely to go into a store and part with £20-£35 a pop to purchase your own copy. Playing a game to review it is worlds apart from playing it for over a week after the review is done.
With that said, we've asked a few of our sterling writers and contributors to tell us what their favourite Wii and DS games are (currently). Their answers were mostly helpful, with only minor slaps being handed around for instances of "Oh I can't choose!" and non-answering:
Eyemax
Wii: Resident Evil 4. Yeah, a Gamecube game.
DS: Probably Trauma Centre.
Matt Kelly
Wii: Probably The Complete Lego Star Wars, which says more about the fact that the Wii is yet to have many really good games of its own (what, Twilight Princess? Also a Gamecube game...).
DS: I'd go with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Kim Kaze
Wii: The game I want to keep going back to play again is Ghost Squad. I think this is mostly to do with the fact that I am not into platformers right now (so Mario is out) and the other mature titles like Resident Evil simply don't appeal to my taste. Ghost Squad it is then; just beating Link's Crossbow training to the line.
DS: Probably Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Thrilled me, kept me playing until I completed it and the final episode's new control features were excellent. Very original game concept - who would have thought a lawyer-em-up would have worked out?
Ken
Wii: Rampage, Lots of destruction with lots of Kaiju to play as and unlock. Other than that I'd say Link's Crossbow Training as a more recent title.
DS: Guilty Gear DS, I once considered saving for a PS2 of my own after playing a friends copy a while ago. I now have my own GG with a twist of Smash Bros to it and still enjoy it.
Mat
Wii: He wasn't around to comment today, but the games we can't pry him away from for long are Dragon Ball Z 2 and Geometry Wars: Galaxies.
DS: Again, Geometry Wars: Galaxies. (He keeps nicking my pink DS Lite to play it!!! -Ed)
Paul
Wii: He likes Excite Truck, Mario Galaxy & Ghost Squad but we can't get him away from Geometry Wars: Galaxies!
DS: Probably Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Mark
Wii: Rayman Raving Rabids for the win!
DS: It's got to be the as yet unreleased - Nanostray 2.
Jazz
Wii: Mario Galaxy & Excite Truck.
DS: Probably Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
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